Ah let it ring... An appeal to Pastor Jones

We live in America; a gorgeous country that affords indulgence in life, love, the pursuit of happiness and of course, freedom - freedom to think, to write, to say, to do, to believe anything we choose.  I personally believe that freedom is a human right, not a privilege. There is a rudimentary albeit critical element to freedom that I will describe with an old, apt cliché...

Freedom is power, and with that power comes great responsibility. After 234 years, I suppose it's reasonable that the majority take our freedoms for granted.  After all, we've come a long way from war-torn, Revolutionary America. The problem with taking our freedoms for granted is that we put ourselves at great risk.  Case in point - Pastor Terry Jones, the Pentecostal religious "leader" in Florida who announced he would burn the Quran.

As I believe in our freedom of speech and religion, I practice tolerance regardless of agreeing with other ideas or not.  If Pastor Jones burned the Quran, I'd  have to say that it is his choice, his freedom of speech, his right.  Yes he has the right, but should he? Absolutely not!  This country was founded by we the people, for the people, something Pastor Jones seems to have forgotten and this is where the danger lies.  You see, freedom is about people.  Everything we have comes from the strife, pain and trials of all of the people who fought, died and came before us.  Our decisions, how we choose to exercise our freedoms, affects others whether we realize it or not.  Because of this, we - the individual - need to account for how our choices may influence other people.  It is our moral obligation.

Pastor Jones is abusing his freedom, his power, his responsibility  as a human, an American and a religious leader.  He is not taking his position in the church, state, nation and world seriously.  If he were, he'd realize what a grave error he is making.  One person can make a difference, whether for good or bad.  If Jones were to publicly burn the Quran, that single gesture would fuel the fire of anti-American sentiment of those who seek to do harm against us.  They will use this as petrol on the fire to recruit others and induce violence.  Pastor Jones will be putting potentially thousands of lives in jeopardy, all to practice his individual freedom.

I implore him to reconsider and follow his moral onus to other people's welfare and safety; put away this idea of publicly burning the Quran entirely and forever.  And I urge you to please not take our freedoms for granted.  Think before you leap.